


Thordís

by RoseyPoseyPie



Series: Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Angry Odin (Marvel), Arranged Marriage, Brother-Sister Relationships, Canon-Typical Violence, Comic Book Science, Comic Book Violence, F/F, Female Thor (Marvel), Forced Marriage, Genderbending, Jane Foster Loves Science, Lesbian Thor (Marvel), Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, Loki (Marvel) Has Issues, Minor Frigga/Odin (Marvel), No Incest, Odin (Marvel) Has Issues, Odin (Marvel)'s A+ Parenting, Odin (Marvel)'s Bad Parenting, Pre-Thor (2011), Protective Siblings, Sibling Rivalry, Thor (2011) - Freeform, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-06 00:48:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16378229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseyPoseyPie/pseuds/RoseyPoseyPie
Summary: Thordís was the Princess of Asgard and could have been as good as any king. She was talented in almost anything she wanted to master: magic, language, even combat. However, the people of Asgard, including her father, feared the thought of a woman on the throne. Her father was particularly worried about her learning the art of war. When the day came for her to select a suitor so she could be supervised by a man when she became Queen, enemies attacked Asgard. When Thordís tried to defend it, she was cast out by her father for her disobedience.Trapped on Midgard, all Thordís wants is to return home. But fate has other things in store for the goddess of thunder. If she genuinely wants to prove her worth, it may mean sacrificing what means most to her.





	1. Origin

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, all!
> 
> I want to introduce you to Thordis, my adaptation of Thor for my "Anything You Can Do" Series. You don't have to read the rest of the series to understand this one, but I would love it if you could! :)
> 
> I have a playlist for her:
> 
> [Thordis Odindottir's Tracks](https://8tracks.com/roseyposeypie/thordis-odindottir-s-tracks?utm_medium=referral&utm_content=mix-page&utm_campaign=embed_button) from [RoseyPoseyPie](http://8tracks.com/roseyposeypie?utm_medium=referral&utm_content=mix-page&utm_campaign=embed_button) on [8tracks Radio](https://8tracks.com?utm_medium=referral&utm_content=mix-page&utm_campaign=embed_button).
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Thordís Odinsdottir was the first daughter of Odin Borson, the Allfather and king of Asgard, and his young wife, Frigga. He had married Frigga after millennia of protecting the nine realms, as he declared he needed a reliable partner and queen to help him ensure the next heir of Asgard. Not long after her birth, Thordís’s father went to war with the frost giants of Jotunheim. The fight was short and bloody, and in the war, Odin lost his eye but successfully took the Casket of Ancient Winters from Jotunheim and secured a peace treaty with the king, Laufey. Days after Odin returned, Frigga had a son, who they named Loki.

 

Thordís and Loki were best friends from a young age. Loki admired his older sister, and she was enamored with her younger brother. As young children, they were inseparable. Odin insisted on teaching his children to be prepared for their responsibilities later in life. Thordís and Loki were both trained in etiquette, philosophy, the sciences, and politics at a young age. When she had a knack for seidr like her mother, Odin gave his daughter two bracelets known as the Járngreipr to help her channel her abilities. From the tales of the fearsome Valkyries to her father’s feats of battle, Thordís begged her father to teach her how to fight while Loki begged his father to let him learn magic like his sister. Odin refused them both. While a woman could learn to fight, it was not the role of the Princess and future queen.

 

Meanwhile, magic was a feminine craft, and it was Loki’s responsibility to learn to fight and protect his family. Both dissatisfied, the siblings formed a pact. In their free time, they found a dark corner of their mother’s sprawling garden, and they taught each other.

 

Thordís could do magic with proficiency, but when Loki took the same things he learned, he could do it quicker and better than she could. Compared to his, her abilities in magic seemed restrained. However, it was in combat where she flourished. Moves and weapons it took him grueling sessions to master, she looked to master in moments, and her fighting was elegant and powerful.

 

One day, Thordís had just returned from a lesson with their mother. She and Loki were supposed to speak in the gardens that afternoon, but her brother was nowhere to be found. “Loki?” She asked, drifting between hiding places. Sitting in the garden was a snake, a beautiful snake with black scales that sparkled when the light hit them. “Hello, beautiful,” She said to the snake, bending over in the dirt to lift it. Thordís loved animals, especially serpents. She held it up to the light, and that’s when it shifted form. Her brother jumped down at her, knife in his hand. She managed to step out of the way, but it slashed her shoulder.

 

“Loki!” She exclaimed, hand clutching her shoulder. “That hurt! What are you doing?”

 

“Your lesson today, Princess, is to expect the unexpected!” Loki declared, lunging at her again. She sidestepped him.

 

“You’ll have to be quicker, brother,” She said with a smile. He jumped at her again, knife slashing toward her with accuracy. She caught his wrist and twisted his arm behind him. Then she slammed her body on his, and they both fell to the ground. She pinned his arms beneath her knees, sat on his chest, and started to tickle him. Loki laughed and dropped the knife. He continued to laugh and cry, begging her to stop. Finally, she finished and helped him up.

 

Thor said, “Mother taught me a healing incantation today.” She whispered and drew an uruz rune with her finger in the air above her cut. The skin slowly healed. “You will have to fix my dress, though,” She said.

 

“We have seamstresses for that,” Loki reminded her.

 

“Well, you practice seidr, is needlepoint truly such a distant skill?” Thordís asked in a teasing voice. Loki rolled his eyes at her. “So, what did you learn today?”

 

“How to throw one of these,” He said, picking up the knife he must have pilfered from the training grounds.

 

“Okay,” Thordís nodded. “How do you throw it?”

 

“See that knot in the tree over there?” Loki asked. He rose his arm to his ear and flung the knife with a flick of his wrist. The knife spun through the air and embedded itself in the tree just below the knot. Loki didn’t seem satisfied with that, “I only just learned today,” He said quietly.

 

“Well, then, how good it is that you managed to hit a tree!” Thordís smiled. “May I try, brother?”

 

“Certainly, sister,” Loki said. He summoned the knife, even Thordís couldn’t quite master summoning yet and handed it to her. She copied his motion, lifting the knife by her ear and bringing her arm forward with a strong flick of the wrist. The knife spun through the air and embedded itself in the knot down to the hilt. “Beginner’s luck,” Loki scoffed.

 

“Loki! Thordís!” Their father was calling. “Where are you?”

 

“Father,” Both said at the same time, panicking. Thordís adjusted her hair to cover the rip of the sleeve on her left shoulder, and Loki summoned the knife and hid it in his trousers.

 

“There you are, what are you doing here?” He asked.

 

Thordís didn’t know what to say. “The trees are in bloom, father,” Loki said. He had a quick, silver tongue. His lies were not only believable but indisputable.

 

“Indeed, they are,” Odin agreed. “I would like to show both of you something.”

 

There were several places in the palace that their father had told them never to explore, and they respected his request, for the most part. The place he brought them too was one place even they dared never to go, their father’s vaults. The vaults were guarded securely by Asgard’s best. They opened the doors for Odin and his children, and the two of them looked around in awe at the undoubtedly dangerous treasures. They went all the way to the end of the vault, where the blue Casket of Ancient Winters, his most recent spoil of war, sat upon a pedestal.

 

“The day will come when I will pass along the throne,” Odin said. “Your combined effort, of brother and sister, will protect and safeguard the nine realms from anyone who threatens them. Together, I believe that you are destined for greatness. You were both born to rule, and if you do so alongside one another, you will ensure the safety and peace I always dreamt of.”

 

“Clearly,” Thordís said, “The best way to ensure safety is to seem strong to our enemies and our allies. I swear, as Queen, if anyone threatens the peace of Asgard, I shall strike them down until they beg for mercy. Just as you did, Father.”

 

“A wise monarch never seeks out war, but must always be ready for it,” Odin said. “I brought you here because I want to show you the danger-” He stopped.

 

“Sorry, sir,” A young messenger said. “I have news from the outer villages of the recent-” his voice dropped to a whisper “-uprisings.”

 

“Stay here, we shall only speak for a moment,” Odin told his children. Thordís strained her ears to overhear the conversation.

 

“What is it this time?” Odin asked as he walked through the vaults with the messenger.

 

“It is the dissatisfaction of the jarls with your decision to allow Princess Thordís to become a lone Queen,” The messenger said. “They are claiming you to be weak-willed and foolish to allow a woman to be an unsupervised Monarch. And the lendmen are concerned that the jarls have a point. There is already speak of armies...” Their voices trailed away

 

“Sister,” Loki whispered to Thordís, “Want to explore?”

 

“It may be dangerous, Loki,” Thordís said.

 

“We won’t _touch_ anything,” Loki said. “Just look.”

 

“If father comes back and sees us-”

 

“We’ll hear him coming,” Loki assured his sister. Thordis was curious, so she nodded, and she set out with her brother to see what else their father had hidden in the vaults. They marveled at the rare armor, the ancient weapons, and the eternal flame of Muspelheim. Sitting at the base of the blaze was a box.

 

“I wonder what’s in there,” Thordís said.

 

“Probably polish,” Loki said, wandering away to look at a large gauntlet.

 

Thordís was too curious for her own good. She kneeled and unclasped the box. She opened it. Inside was a large hammer.

 

“What’s that?” Loki asked.

 

“Mjolnir,” Thordís read the inscription inside the lid. “The Crusher.”

 

“Hm,” Loki seemed disinterested and continued snooping, but there was something about the hammer that enchanted Thordis, she reached down to touch it. There was a spark between her finger and the hilt of the hammer. She snapped it back. There were echoing voices getting louder.

 

“Father’s coming back,” Loki whispered. Thordís closed the box, and the duo hurried back to where their father left them.

 

“...Thank you, I shall meet with the lendmen promptly, let me speak to my daughter first,” Odin was coming back with the same messenger. He nodded and left.

 

“Speak to me about what, father?” Thordís asked.

 

“Some of the jarls and lendmen are resistant to you becoming Queen,” Odin explained. “Asgard has only ever had kings rule alone. I have said that with your brother by your side, you shall never be alone, but they expect you to be married.” Odin said.

 

“I have to get married?” Thordís scrunched her nose in disgust.

 

“Not anytime soon,” Odin assured her. “But when you come of age, you will have to meet with suitors.”

 

“Why can the jarls not see that I have as much potential as any king?” Thordís asked.

 

“There are traditions, unfortunately, that are perceived as unalterable,” Odin said. “Do not worry. You will have plenty of time between then and now.”

 

* * *

 

On the day Thordís became of age, her father invited thirty young men to the palace. The announcement that the Princess would be married before she became Queen was one that had brought peace to Asgard between the dissenting traditionalists. In the years between the day Thordís was told she would need a husband and the day she was supposed to select one, Loki and she tried to get her out of it. Between begging their parents, the pair also tried to find ancient rules that allowed Thordis to keep herself unwed, or to trick the lendmen into agreeing that she need not be married, but none of their schemes were successful. Thordís’ lady in waiting, Sif, helped dress her that morning in her finest gown. She went downstairs and stood at her father’s side as the men introduced themselves and their accomplishments to the Princess. After the introductions, there was a feast. The Princess was expected to dance with the young men and make conversation.

 

“Father,” she whispered. “You cannot possibly expect me to choose one of thirty in a day,” she said.

 

“You must select a suitor.”

 

“When you married mother, you found a woman you loved,” Thordís was using old techniques, but she was desperate. “Why can I not have a similar choice?”

 

“Because you must marry if you are to be a Queen, Thordís,” her father said.

 

“And I will,” Thordís agreed. “What if I select three men, and of those three, I am allowed to befriend them and possibly come to prefer one above the others?” She asked. “And when it is time for me to be Queen, I shall select one.”

 

“Which three do you have in mind?” Odin asked.

 

“I am not quite sure yet,” Thordís admitted. “But I will select three by the end of the feast tonight, I promise,” she said.

 

“Very well,” Odin nodded.

 

As soon as she knew she was successful, Thordís spoke to her brother. “Who should I select?” She asked.

 

“The three men who are the least eager,” Loki advised. “They will accept you drawing out the courting.”

 

Thordís knew precisely then which three men she should select. The first was the least eager in everything, a Vanir lord named Hogun the Grim. He wore dark armor and barely spoke, which meant that while she could not see him becoming her husband, he certainly would be indifferent to waiting. He was also the most talented warrior in Vanaheim, and Thordís was eager to ask him questions of combat. The second was Fandral the Dashing. The most attractive man in Asgard, Fandral would not care that he went unmarried as it gave him more time to continue his attempts in seducing every woman in the city. He was also far too polite to intimidate the Princess into marrying him quickly, and his swordsmanship was well-known in the palace in more ways than one. Finally, she decided to select Volstagg the Valiant. Volstagg had recently lost his wife, and he did not seem eager to remarry but was encouraged here by his elderly and scheming father. Her selections seemed proper from an unknowing eye, as all three men were men of honor and merit. That night the three men were announced as the contenders, they were moved into the palace guest apartments the next day, and she was satisfied.

 

She was less satisfied in the coming days. She had not known the intensity of the tradition-oriented rebels. The rumors of sieges on the palace to force the Princess to marry, while likely untrue, were still prevalent. “The pressure is coming from these dissenters,” Thordís said Loki. “So really, we must silence them.”

 

“How can we accomplish that?” Loki asked.

 

“They are so sure of their beliefs that a woman is incapable of exhibiting strength,” Thordís said, “So we shall prove them wrong.”

 

“I don’t like it when you scheme,” Loki said. “How can I help?”

 

“I need armor,” Thordís said. “And a helm which will protect my identity.”

 

“I can get both, easily,” Loki said. “The dwarven smiths owe me. What of a weapon?”

 

“I have one in mind,” Thordís said. “I will need your help casting an illusion.”

 

“Of course,” Loki said. “You’re terrible at illusions.”

 

* * *

 

In the coming days, Loki requested and received armor for Thordís. The armor included leather, stained dark blue, silver gauntlets, greaves, breastplate, and belt. The helmet was also silver and covered her face down to her upper lip. Two large wings came out of either side of the helmet, covering her ears. Loki showed her how she could retract the face plate as she was putting on the armor. They were to head out to where her father suspected the rebels were meeting and encourage them to peace by whatever means necessary.

 

“What of your weapon?” Loki asked.

“Well, I will need an illusion to get it,” Thordís said. “I already told you this.”

 

“You never explained,” Loki reminded her.

 

“Remember the hammer in Father’s vault?” Thordís asked.

“That thing? You want to steal from Father?” Loki asked. “Are you joking?”

 

“That hammer and I had a connection,” Thordís said. “I’m sure you think that I am insane-”

 

“Only slightly,” Loki agreed.

 

“Please, Loki?”

 

* * *

 

Disguised as her father, Thordís walked past the guards with little worry. They saluted her as she went inside, and navigated the vault to where the box was. She opened it eagerly and lifted the hammer. When she grasped it by its short handle, there was a buzzing sensation that spread from her hand to her whole body, thrumming energy beneath her skin, magic unlike any she had ever handled. With the hammer, Mjolnir, she returned to where Loki was waiting for her at the stables. Her brother was not alone. Four people were with him. Her three suitors, and her lady in waiting, Sif.

 

“Where is the Princess?” Fandral the Dashing asked her brother.

 

“I am not my sister’s keeper,” Loki said. “Why don’t you ask Lady Sif, her ladyship should be with the Princess, should she not?”

 

“You and the Princess have been planning something all week,” Sif accused. “When her suitors requested her presence, and she was missing, I knew you were up to something. Why have you saddled her horse?”

 

“Is the Princess trying to escape?” Volstagg asked. “Are we that unpleasant?”

 

“Do not be so concerned,” Thordís said as she approached the group. She had managed to shake off the illusion, so she looked like herself. “I’m not escaping. I assume you are all aware of the rebels? They threaten the peace in Asgard, and I cannot stand for them to disparage myself and my family. Loki and I have found where they are organizing, and we plan to dispel the rebellion and discourage the offenders.”

 

“You can fight?” Hogun the Grim asked.

 

“She is better in all forms of combat than I,” Loki said. That sounded like a feat, for the prince was known to be a talented warrior like his father.

 

“Allow us to accompany you,” Fandral requested. “It would be an honor to join the Prince and Princess in battle.”

 

“If all goes well, we shall not need a battle,” Loki said quietly.

 

“The more, the merrier,” Thordís smiled.

 

The three warriors brought their armor, weapons, and horses to the gates of the palace where Thordís and Loki were waiting. Accompanying them was Sif.

 

“Lady Sif, are you sure you want to come with?” Loki asked.

 

“There must be one person with reason in this party,” Sif said. They accepted that.

 

The six of them rode out late that night. It was not a very long journey, for Asgard was a relatively small realm. They tied the horses up in a grove and hiked the rest of the way to the rebel camp, peering over the ridge.

 

“How many rebels are there?” Fandral asked, aghast at the sprawling camp.

 

“I’d estimate about one hundred,” Thordís said, “It seems like they purposefully inflated their camp to intimidate scouts. Look at the patrols, they’re so distant. If it was as well-armed as the size indicated, they could definitely spare more men than that to protect the entrances.”

 

“What is the plan, Princess?” Hogun asked.

 

“To prove their bluff,” Thordís said. She activated the faceplate of her helmet to disguise herself. She stood up and started walking down the ridge to one of the entrances.

 

“Are we just walking in?” Loki called after his sister. “We’re just walking in,” He told the group. They scrambled to their feet to follow Thordís inside the camp.

 

When they reached the main entrance, where two guards in shoddy armor stood, they stopped her. “Women are not allowed,” The most massive guard said, looking down at Thordís with the bearing of intimidation.

 

“Pity,” she said. Then, with a feral roar, she used the hammer to plow through his legs, knocking him over. She spun and shoved the hammer into the head of the second guard as he came toward her. He stumbled and fell onto his back, disoriented. Thordís propped the hammer on her shoulder and strolled into the camp. The violence with the guards had drawn a crowd. These rebels were poorly armed, lacking proper supplies to even make a dent in the defenses of the citadel. But she was not here because she was afraid of these men, she was here because the ideas that they were espousing if allowed to fester, could poison the minds of Asgard.

 

“Who is she?” One man whispered.

 

“ _What_ is she?” A second asked.

 

“How could she do that?” inquired a third.

 

Thordís stopped, as she was practically encircled by this crowd of curious rebels. “You men are an insult,” She thundered. “To your mothers, and your fathers, and their forefathers. You stand here, with the audacity to assume you can control the actions of the Princess. You act as though you have the ability, the right, the power to control the decisions of the Allfather and his heir. Your pride has misguided you. I order you to abandon this fool’s errand, or I shall make you suffer.”

 

“And who are  _you_ ,” A man asked, coming to the front of the group. He was the tallest, broadest, and best-armed of the group. Thordís recognized him as the son of a Jarl, and one of her dismissed suitors.

 

“I am a Valkyrie,” Thordís said.

 

He laughed, “Everyone knows that the valkyries were killed off years ago.”

 

“Not all of them,” Thordís said. “I have made my pledge to defend Asgard, and I shall do so against the likes of you.”

 

He stepped closer. “I should like to see you try.”

 

Thordís wasn’t exactly sure what compelled her, but she knew it had something to do with the hammer. It was speaking to her in some strange way, teaching her what it could be used for with a silent exchange of information. She spun the hammer with its leather handle and lifted it above her head, and she flew into the air. She stopped the spinning and fell, smashing her hammer into the earth beneath her as she landed. The shockwave knocked every rebel off his feet, while arcs of electricity shot off of her body and singed the apparent leader. That was when the fighting broke out. Thordís could hurl the hammer into the rebels and summon it back with ease. The three warriors, Loki, and even Sif joined her in fighting. Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg indeed were warriors deserving of praise. Her brother was quick, and with his illusions, hidden knives, and bow and arrow, the men had no idea they were under attack until there was something sharp in their knee. Sif had stood to the side, but when a man came running at her with an axe, she picked up a fallen sword and ran him through. From there, she was doing her best to disable anyone who came too close.

 

As the fighting waned, the sun was cresting above the trees, and the sky was pink and new. Heavy clopping could be heard coming to the camp. They were worried that there were reinforcements, but in fact, it was a legion of Aesir guards headed by Heimdall. With a start, Thordís remembered Heimdall could probably know that it was her who had escaped the palace to fight the rebels.

 

“Prince Loki!” He exclaimed. “Lady Sif, and the Warriors Three? And of course… a Valkyrie,” He winked at Thordís and relief flooded through her. “Why did you attack the rebels?”

 

“We had to defend the honor of Princess Thordís,” Thordís said.

 

“I quite understand, Valkyrie,” Heimdall nodded gravely. “Asgard owes you its thanks for your defense of its future Queen.”

 

“I do not need thanks,” Thordís said. “I merely did what I must.”

 

“We must first investigate this camp and bring back all of the rebels for medical assistance and punishment. Shall you accompany us?” Heimdall asked.

 

“They shall,” Thordís said. “I shall not.” She spun Mjolnir and launched herself into the air, leaving the group, protecting her identity from the other guards, and looking impressive all at once. She rode her horse back to Asgard in a full sprint and managed to hide the armor and hammer in her room and change into her Princess attire before her breakfast came. The feats of her three suitors, her brother, her lady in waiting, and this mysterious Valkyrie were the topic of conversation for ages after that night. Asgard celebrated Loki, Sif and the Warriors Three, and known as some of the best defenders of the kingdom. They were sometimes accompanied by the fearsome Valkyrie, who was said to be the most skilled in battle. Her identity was Asgard’s greatest mystery, but the second mystery was why the Allfather was so concerned when he heard that she wielded a warhammer with a short hilt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who read!
> 
> I adore hearing from you, and every comment/kudos/bookmark/subscription is welcome and beloved!
> 
> Until the next chapter!  
> :)


	2. Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has so far enjoyed this! I'm very grateful for the feedback I've received so far in the form of kudos. You can all comment too. It makes my day, I assure you! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy! :)

After years of friendship, Odin Allfather declared it was time for Princess Thordís to decide which of her three suitors: Fandral the dashing, Volstagg the valiant, or Hogun the grim, would be her selection of a husband. Thordís, who never wanted to marry a man at all, was absolutely incensed by his declaration. She had hoped, with all the work she and her friends had done to discourage the rebels, the belief in her as a Queen would contribute to her father finally giving her the liberty to decide if she ever wanted to marry, and indeed when. But instead, Odin was insistent that not only would she choose her future husband, but she would be bound to him the next day. Thordís didn’t understand her father’s sudden insistence. When she told her brother about her newest predicament, she showed him and only him the fear and weakness she harbored for this event. Loki told her he could fix it, but she made him swear not to interfere. It seemed like all attempts to discourage their father only delayed what seemed inevitable. She could be happy with any of her three suitors, as they were three of her closest friends. As Jarls and foreign royals flooded the city, Thordís had to debate which of the Warriors Three ought to be king.

Fandral was undoubtedly the closest to her in age. He was the most handsome, and she knew that if she selected him, he would try to commit all his passion for her, which was intimidating and flattering. She also knew the responsibility of being King would bore him, and monogamy would repress him. He was also incredibly polite, which was not a trait typical of a strong king. Volstagg was older than her, and he was an experienced father. He had five children from his late wife, and Thordís knew that she could definitely make an heir with him as her husband. He was undoubtedly responsible enough for the grueling daily tasks of the monarchy, but his gluttony could endanger the efficiency of his role. He also seemed to desire simplicity, something that marriage to her would deny him. Hogun was not Asgardian, and the people may be dissatisfied if the heirs were not Aesir, but Aesir-Vanir. He was gentle in his own way, but for the most part, quiet and morose. He was wise enough to handle the responsibility of the throne alongside her, but his devotion to Vanaheim may threaten the neutrality of the Asgardian throne.

When Thordís had selected the Warriors Three, she did not plan on marrying any of them. Her selection was purely to delay the marriage as long as feasibly possible, but such a day was here. She was not eager to pick between any of her close friends, nor was she keen to marry any man at all. 

“Nervous, sister?” Loki asked. She had been drinking goblets of wine by the platterful, nervous guards returning to her when she demanded another.

“Have you ever known me to be nervous?” Thordís asked, putting on a brave face. She was dressed in her most elegant gown, made of fabric in a vibrant crimson shade. Her brother was wearing his armor and his great horned headpiece. 

“There was the time in Nornheim…” Loki teased.

“That wasn't nerves, brother. It was the rage of battle. How else could I have fought my way through a hundred warriors and pulled us out alive?” Thordís spoke quietly as an attendant approached to give her another goblet.

“As I recall, I was the one who veiled us in smoke to ease our escape,” Loki said, quietly, once the attendant had left.

“Your trick, albeit useful, was not as impressive,” Thordís said. 

“Well, we don’t all have stolen ancient weapons to aid us,” Loki teased his sister. She smiled at him with a tired expression and lifted her large headpiece onto her head. It was a tall crown, studded with ruby and obsidian gemstones. “Nice tiara,” Loki said.

“You don’t really want to start this again, do you, Goat?” She asked.

“I was being sincere!” Loki exclaimed.

“You are incapable of sincerity,” Thordís laughed.

“Am I?” Loki asked. They shared a quiet moment. “I’m sincerely sorry that father is forcing you to make this decision. At the same time, I am envious, for I know he is preparing you to take the throne. Whatever happens today, I know this: you will be the greatest Queen Asgard has ever known, and the people will realize to reject the inane traditions of our forefathers. And I shall help you. However I can, I swear, for I do love you.”

“Thank you,” Thordís said sincerely. She turned to her brother and hugged him tightly. “Sometimes, I envy your freedom, brother. I would much rather you be King, Loki, and I defend Asgard in your stead.”

“No, you would be a better Queen, Thordís,” Loki said. “You’re a kinder woman than I am.”

“Well, you have not spent much time as a woman,” Thordís joked.

“That was  _ one time _ ,” Loki hissed.

“Don't lie, brother, it's been several times,” Thordís beamed. She stood tall and relaxed her shoulders, “How do I look?”

“Like a Queen,” Loki said. A ceremonial horn blared. “It’s time,” he told her.

“You go ahead,” she said. He looked at her wearily. “I’ll be along. Go on.”

 

As Thordís waited for her cue, her mother found her. Queen Frigga looked as regal as ever and kindly stood beside her daughter. “It’s alright to be nervous,” Frigga said.

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Thordís asked. “I am not nervous.”

Frigga smiled knowingly. “You may be able to fool the rest of Asgard-”

“-But never you,” Thordís finished for her. “I know.”

“I was frightened too,” Frigga said. “Intimidated immensely, as I was selected by the King of Asgard himself. I always wondered if I was capable of what he expected of me if I truly deserved the honor. But I fell in love with your father, Thordís. And you are luckier than I, you have the privilege to choose a man who is already a friend. I have no doubt you will find love and happiness with him.”

Thordís smiled at her mother, but she did not say what was on her tongue. Thordís believed wholeheartedly that she would not find love and happiness with one of her three friends. At least, not the love and happiness her mother was referring to. Thordís doubted if she would ever come to love a man in the way her mother was referring to. 

“Now, Thordís,” Frigga said, “You must not keep your people waiting.”

“Yes, mother,” Thordís agreed. “I shall come when called.”

Satisfied, Frigga left her daughter to wait for her cue. Thordís was utterly alone now, with a massive crown sitting on her head and a slight apprehension brewing in her chest. She was trying to be strong, but she did not want to be here. The blasting fanfare announcing her could be heard outside the doors, but it was muffled and distant. For a fleeting moment, Thordís considered escape before walking forward gracefully into the throne room. She smiled at the crowd as she walked toward her father. Her brother stood on his left, her mother on his right. At the foot of his throne, stood Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun. The cheering sustained for a while after Thordís reached her family and her suitors. She sunk into a deep curtsey, straining to keep the towering headpiece on her head. Odin stood up, and the room went silent. He spoke.

“Gungnir.” He said, indicating to his spear. “Its aim is true, its power strong. With it, I have defended Asgard and the lives of the innocent across the Nine Realms since the time of the Great Beginning. Asgard is safe through its power, a power worthy of a King. Thordís Odinsdottir, my heir, my first-born, shall be the greatest Queen Asgard has ever known, but all Queens require an equally worthy King.  Today I entrust you with the greatest honor in all the Nine Realms. You are permitted to select the future King of Asgard, to be your companion as you shall together preserve the peace of the realms. I have sacrificed much to achieve peace. So, too, must a new generation sacrifice to maintain that peace. Responsibility, duty, honor. These are not merely virtues to which we must aspire. They are essential to every soldier and to every King. You shall be responsible, alongside whoever you select, to ensure a future generation for the throne of Asgard as well as a strong nation for them to rule. Are you prepared for this, Princess Thordís?”

“I am,” Thordís said. She was growing colder and colder as this continued, but she was confident the numbness in her toes and fingers was due to the nerves.

“Very well. Then, my daughter, who have you selected, after centuries of courting? Fandral the Dashing, Volstagg the Valiant, or Hogun the Grim? Which man have you decided is the most capable to safeguard the realm, preserve the peace, and cast all personal ambition aside to be devoted to you as a husband, and to the good of the realm, as a King?”

“I have selected-” Thordís stopped because her father rose his hand, silencing her. Did she do something wrong? Then, there was a crackling sound. Ice was crawling up the columns and the decorative banners.

“Frost Giants,” Odin said. “Come, Loki,” He stood up and, with Loki at his heels, hurried out of the throne room. The Warriors Three unsheathed their weapons as well and trailed behind the King and the Prince. Sif burst from the crowd, sword drawn and sprinted after them. Thordís wanted to help fight, but she was in the public eye, and the fighting would be done by the time she managed to slip away and transform into the Last Valkyrie. 

Her mother came down and held her hand, and they were escorted by the einherjar to her mother’s rooms. There, they waited for the King and Prince to return. A sick part of Thordís’s mind wondered what would happen if her possible suitors and father all died down there. Would she finally be free to be the Queen? Or would it default to Loki for some reason? Either way, she would be free. 

“Do not worry,” Her mother said. Frigga took off Thordís’s heavy crown and held her daughter, “They will be alright.”

Indeed, her mother was right. Her father and brother came upstairs.

“What happened?” Thordís asked, standing up immediately. “Why were there Frost Giants?”

“They came to take the Casket of Ancient Winters and killed two guards. They believe it to be their birthright. They paid with their lives, do not worry, Thordís,” the Allfather said. “All is well.”

“All is well?” Thordís asked, outraged. “They killed Asgardians! They came for the Casket - they could lay waste to the realms with it.”

“But they did not succeed, Thordís,” Odin said. “I have a truce with Laufey, the Jotun King.”

“Then explain the Jotuns that were here today?” Thordís asked. “At best these rebels are a testament to his inability to control his own people, at worst, this was an act of war. We must go to Jotunheim to resolve this before they attack again-”

“It was an act of but a few, doomed to fail,” Odin said. “You needn’t concern yourself with such. We will find the breach in our defenses and seal it. You should be more focused on who you will select. I still must know so the wedding can happen soon, I refuse to let these rebels ruin something important as this.”

Thordís was enraged and shocked at her father. They were attacked by the Jotun, and yet, he cared about marriage? He did not respect her, he did not believe her. If only she could show him that she was a worthy ruler. “You want to know who I see fit to be King?” Thordís asked. Her father nodded. “Me!” She exclaimed, storming out of her mother’s room and slamming the door. She hurried to her room. She was in some sort of rage. She ripped pillows from her bed and hurled them. Not satisfied with the destruction, she threw the chair at her desk, her nightstand, she knocked over her wardrobe, she ripped the drapes from her bed and relished in the destruction.

“Having a tantrum?” A quiet voice asked from the corner of her room. It was her brother. He had shed his ceremonial armor and looked almost sympathetic.

“It is unwise to be in my company right now, brother,” Thordís said, looking around at her ruined room. She knew that it would take only a few hours to fix or replace everything, but she suddenly felt ashamed of her outburst.

“Who said I was wise?” Loki asked. Thordís sat down on her bed, which had feathers strewn about it. Loki sat beside her. “If it’s any consolation, I think you're right. About the Frost Giants, about Laufey, everything. If a few of them could penetrate the defenses of Asgard once, who's to say they won't try again. Next time with an army?”

Thordís shook her head “I don’t want to think of the worst, but this is the first attack in the palace in ages. Not only do I question the intentions of the Jotun, I question the abilities of our father.”

“I understand,” Loki said. “But there is nothing we can do. I am a Prince, and you are a Princess, any action of ours could mean war.”

“Yes,” Thordís agreed. “Any action of Prince Loki and Princess Thordís would endanger war. But a lone Asgardian? If Father is right and lone Jotun mean nothing, then Laufey must extend father the same courtesy of lone Aesir.”

“No, no, no, Thordís,” Loki said. “You can’t  _ summon the Valkyrie _ to Jotunheim.”

“I can and I shall,” Thordís said. “It's the only way to ensure the safety of our borders.”

“It’s madness!” Loki exclaimed.

“You don’t have to agree, you don’t have to come with,” Thordís said. “Just please, let me do this. The Valkyrie shall discover the truth, and then Princess Thordís can prove to father she doesn’t need a husband to be a responsible ruler!”

“Somehow, Thordís, I don’t find sneaking into Jotunheim very responsible,” Loki said.

“Loki-”

“So if you are so sure we must do that, I will come with,” Loki said. “In disguise, so nobody over there knows that we are the Prince and Princess of Asgard.”

“Thank you, Loki.”

“I will ready our horses as you change,” Loki said. “And meet you in the forest outside the garden gates.”

 

* * *

 

Once Thordís was changed into her red, blue and silver armor, and she had extracted Mjolnir from its hiding place beneath her bed, she flew to her brother, and the pair rode out, from the forest trail to the Bifrost. 

“Do you think Heimdall will let us pass?” Loki asked.

“He has always aided us on our adventures, Loki, he knows as well as we do that they are for the good of Asgard,” Thordís said.

When they reached the observatory at the end of the Bifrost, Heimdall was waiting for them, “You’re not dressed warmly enough,” Heimdall said. ”The freezing cold of Jotunheim will kill you both in time, even Thordís.”

“Enchantments shall protect us for a short while, we do not plan on being there long,” Thordís told him. “We just want to ask Laufey if he knew of what occurred.”

Heimdall looked down solemnly. “For ages have I guarded Asgard and kept it safe from those who would do it harm. In all that time, never has an enemy slipped by my watch, until this day. I wish to know how that happened.”

“Thank you,” Thordís said.

“Be warned. I will honor my sworn oath to protect this Realm as its Gatekeeper. If your return threatens the safety of Asgard, the Bifrost will remain closed to you. You'll be left to die in the cold wastes of Jotunheim.”

“I have no plans to die today,” Thordís said.

“None do,” Heimdall replied. As he activated the Bifrost, Loki cast a disguise upon himself, so he looked like a plain Aesir, and Thordís cast an enchantment upon herself to stay warm. The Bifrost opened. “All is ready, you may pass,” Heimdall said.

“Can you not leave the bridge open for us?” Loki asked.

“To keep this bridge open would be to unleash the full power of the Bifrost and destroy Jotunheim with you upon it.”

“Nevermind then,” Loki said.

Loki and Thordís shared a nod, and then they plunged into the swirling light.

 

* * *

 

When Heimdall said Jotunheim was cold, he was not jesting. Even with her enchantment, Thordís was chilled as she stood on an icy cliff with Loki. She looked at her younger brother, his charm of warmth must be even more effective than hers, because he wasn’t at all cold, it seemed. Thordis closed the faceplate of her helm, “Do you know where Laufey lives?”

“How should I know  _ that _ ?” Loki asked.

They set off through the frozen wasteland. Icy winds whipped at them and howled around them. After hiking through the snow in silence for several hours, the reached the outskirts of the ancient citadel of Jotunheim. Crumbling buildings of crystal and ice encircled a still-standing temple.

“There,” Thordís guessed, indicating the temple. “If Laufey lives anywhere.”

“Where are the Jotun?” Loki asked. He and Thordís shared a knowing look. Loki checked the perimeter, hiding in the shadows and surveying the area while Thordís walked straight through the decrepit city toward the central building. Is this the aftermath of the war with Asgard? Why could the Jotun not repair their city?

“What is your business here, Asgardian?” A Jotun sentry said.

“I came to speak to King Laufey,” Thordís said.

“Then speak,” A voice from inside the temple said. There, shrouded in shadows and sitting upon a throne, was King Laufey.

“King Laufey of Jotunheim,” Thordís gave him a polite nod. “I am the last Valkyrie.”

“Valkyrie?” Laufey cocked his head to one side. “Why has Asgard sent a Valkyrie?”

“Asgard is in need of answers,” Thordís said. “Were you aware that, today, two Jotun broke into our realm and killed two Aesir?”

“And did you Aesir kill these Jotun?” Laufey asked.

“Yes,” Thordís said.

“So, the debt is repaid,” Laufey said.

“How did you people get into Asgard?” Thordís asked. “Were you aware of this?”

“I do know that there are traitors in the House of Odin,” Laufey said.

“You do?” Thordís asked. “Who?”

“I don’t know who,” Laufey said. “They came, offering me a way to attack the heart of Asgard. I am no fool, Odin and I have a truce. However, my people suffer and starve. I cannot control if they decided to collaborate with this traitor or not. I did not know that they attacked until this moment.”

“You are the King of this land, isn’t your responsibility to supervise your people? Thordís asked. “What will you do to ensure that this does not happen again?”

Laufey laughed. “Asgard is full of murderers and thieves. You left our world in ruins, murdered our children, and took the casket from us. I sympathize with all Jotun who believe it is their right to reclaim it.”

“And what if Asgard considers these rebels as an act of war, as many Asgardians do?” Thordís asked. “Odin upholds peace, but he is always ready for war.”

“Is that a threat, Valkyrie?” Laufey asked.

“A warning,” Thordís said simply. “If I may humbly remind you, your suffering could be far worse. Asgard could easily destroy the remnants of Jotunheim.”

“We are acutely aware of our subjugation,” Laufey said. “Now leave, before I decide that your words are a great offense.”

“Your Majesty,” Thordís said, with another polite nod. She left the temple, Jotun growling at her as she passed. Loki met her at the outskirts of the city. “Where were you?” She asked him.

“Making sure nobody was trying to attack you from behind,” Loki said. “There are fewer Jotun here than I was expecting.”

“The less of these creatures, the better,” Thordís said with disgust.

“What did you learn?” Loki asked.

“Someone betrayed father and gave those Jotun safe passage,” Thordís said. “I fear that these people may continue to attack if an Aesir is helping them. Why would any Asgardian betray father for Jotunheim? What good will come from the resulting war?”

“Perhaps they are just looking to make distractions,” Loki said.

“Today, they attacked during my ceremony to select a suitor. That had to be planned,” Thordís said. “Who, besides us, opposes father’s insistence on marrying me?”

“Perhaps a jaded suitor?” Loki asked. “He hoped the warriors three would die in the attack as they are the defenders of Asgard? And he could be selected?”

“A sound theory,” Thordís agreed. She stopped. She had heard the sound of cracking ice. She and Loki shared a glance before several large giants surged at them from behind rocks of ice. If they were sent by Laufey or rebels, Thordís did not care. She readied her hammer, Mjolnir, and swung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who read!
> 
> I adore hearing from you, and every comment/kudos/bookmark/subscription is welcome and beloved!
> 
> Until the next chapter!  
> :)


	3. Exile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate everyone who's provided feedback and is staying updated and enjoying this so far. Thank you.

The total number of giants that attacked from the shadows was well over a dozen. Thordís swung her hammer at the closest one, and it smashed against his skull with a sickening crunch. One swiped at her with his blade made of ice. She dropped to her knees, slid beneath the giant’s swing, and flung her hammer into the side of his head. He tumbled to the side. She summoned her hammer back to her as a group of giants came towards her and leaped to her feet with the hammer’s spin, dodging blades of ice and frozen claws. They all piled beneath her, and she came down, with a blast of lightning surging around her as she landed, blasting the Jotun back and burning them.

 

“Alright, brother?” She asked Loki, who had taken several down with his throwing knives, short bow, and magic. He was staring at his hand in shock. “Loki?” She asked as she smashed her hammer into the head of another giant.

 

“One grabbed me,” Loki said. “Thankfully he did not manage to burn me with his ice.” He flung a knife over Thordís’s shoulder, striking a giant who was sneaking behind her between his eyes. The ambush was far from over. The Jotun were coming at the duo out of seemingly nothing. They slowly pushed further from the city as they fought off their ambush. With blasts of white lightning, Thordís could keep the giants at bay. If any got to close, her hammer would splinter their bones. Loki’s long-range attacks and illusions of flames also kept their attackers from overwhelming them, but they had no idea if and when this would end. The Giants had backed them up against a cliff. They could not go any further.

 

“I have an idea,” Thordís said. She spun Mjolnir with all her might, grabbed Loki by the back of his armor, and rocketed into the air. She tossed Loki away from the cliff and into a snowbank, continuing upward. Then, she twisted in the air, and Mjolnir pulled her to the ground, above the giants, who were waiting for her with sharp blades pointed toward the sky. She did not strike down upon the giants but behind them. A deep fissure formed in the ice and rock of the cliff, crackling from where Mjolnir had buried itself into the ground and the edge of the cliff. Thordís used Mjolnir to push the crack wider, and the side of the cliff slipped away from where she stood, taking all the Jotun attackers with it into the deep, frozen canyon. She hurried over to her brother, who was stuck face-first in a snowbank. His illusion had faded as his impact sullied his concentration.

 

“Are you alright, brother?” Thordís asked, helping him out of the snow which clung to his dark hair.

 

“Am I alright?” Loki asked as if insulted by her concern. “You’ve thrown me around like a doll, sister.”

 

Thordís knew if he was able to express disdain, he was fine. She helped him to his feet, “Consider it repentance for your mutilation of my beloved Ingrid,” Thordís said. She looked up at the sky, “Heimdall, we are ready to come home!”

 

They waited for a beat, and the sky opened up above them, swirling with prismatic light. The Bifrost opened around them and brought them back to Asgard. Thordís took off her helmet and shook snow and ice from her hair as they landed in the observatory. She looked up to that Heimdall, but Heimdall was not standing there. Her father was the one at the control panel of the Bifrost, and he could now see her in her armor, with Mjolnir in one hand and the helmet of the last Valkyrie in the other. Heimdall stood in the corner of the observatory, looking ashamed.

 

“Thordís,” Odin said in a too-quiet voice. “Do you realize what you have done?”

 

“Father, I can explain-” Loki started.

 

“Silence!” Odin roared, Loki stopped and shrunk back. Odin turned on Thordís again, his rage was now evident. “How long have you been wielding that Hammer?”

 

“Since the Last Valkyrie has been,” Thordís answered.

 

“Why have you done this - disobeyed me for years - violated the rules I put in place to protect you-”

 

“Rules which oppressed me!” Thordís exclaimed. “Rules which made me unhappy. Since a child, all I have wanted was to be a warrior, like you. You have said that a Princess should not be a warrior, but I am! The best in Asgard! I have protected our realm with Mjolnir more than I have sitting in on meetings where we talk about expenditures and arranging feasts!”

 

“And you went to Jotunheim to prove yourself?” Odin asked accusingly.

 

“I went to Jotunheim to get answers! And I got them! For the good of Asgard - how can I rule Asgard if I cannot protect it?”

 

Odin shook his head, “That’s what you think you are doing? Protecting? You have enraged Laufey-”

 

“His people attacked us first!” Thordís exclaimed. “We were defending ourselves! We were not fighting his army, but the rebellious-”

 

“I do not care, for Laufey will not care! Jotun lives were lost!”

 

“So we should have let them kill us?”

 

“You should never have gone in the first place! You are a princess! You are too irrational for the sole responsibility of the throne, and you are certainly too irrational to protect Asgard in the way you so desire! Your responsibility is not to fight, it is to maintain the peace, and it is to protect the line of your forefathers!”

 

“All this time I thought the traditionalist ideas of the jarls and the lendmen were ones you resisted, but they have poisoned your mind and your faith in me. You never gave me a chance to prove my ability, you immediately disregarded it for my sex!”

 

“You are a vain, irreverent, and incapable girl!” Odin yelled.

 

“You are an old man and a fool!” Thordís screamed.

 

The room was silent.

 

“Father-” Loki tried again.

 

“Leave us, Loki,” Odin said. Loki obeyed his father, walking from his sister’s side to the entrance of the observatory. That was where he lingered.

 

“Thordís Odinsdottir,” Odin said in a grave voice. “You have disobeyed the express command of your King. Through your arrogance and stupidity, you have opened these peaceful Realms and innocent lives to the horrors of war. You are unworthy of this realm, unworthy of your title, and unworthy of the loved ones you’ve betrayed. I hereby take from you your powers-” He opened his hand and Mjolnir flew into it. Meanwhile, her bracelets which were supposed to bring her magical strength began to grow heavy on her arms, turning thick and dark on her wrists, like the cuffs of imprisonment. She felt weak and tired. “You must prove that you are worthy of your power, your titles, and Asgard, or else you shall have none,” Odin said, as a beam of lightning came from the hammer and struck her in the chest. It was painful, and she fell to her knees, curling up on the ground as the lightning reduced her silver and dark leather armor to ash. “Until such a time, in the name of my father, and his father before him, I, Odin Allfather, cast you out!” The Bifrost activated behind her and sucked her into the spinning, blinding light.

 

Thordís tumbled through the light, and hit something hard, skidding and falling on rough sand. She lay limp on the ground, completely bare and exposed, She climbed to her feet, and was met with two bright lights and something hard in the darkness. It sent her backward, tumbling again through the night.

 

“I think that was legally your fault,” A female voice said. “Oh my god - is she naked?!”

 

“Get the first aid kit,” A second female voice said. Someone was standing over Thordís. “Do me a favor, please, and don’t be dead,” The second female continued. “What happened to you?” Thordís didn’t have the strength to speak. Everything hurt. “Open your eyes and look at me, please,” The woman asked. That Thordís could do. She opened her eyes and saw the woman above her, a beautiful young woman with brown, doe-like eyes, and dark, glossy hair.

 

“I got the first aid kit, and a blanket to cover her,” The first voice said. Thordis was covered by something warm and soft. The beautiful woman touched her forehead, “She’s really cold, how long do you think she’s been out here?” The woman asked her other female companion.

 

“However long it's been,” An older man said in the distance, “we need to get her to a hospital. She could be escaping from something. There’s no good reason for her to be out here, naked, in the cold.”

 

“Yeah,” The beautiful woman said, looking up hopelessly at the sky. “Where did she come from?”

 

“I think if we take a panel out of the back of the van, we could use it as a gurney,” The younger female said from where she stood awkwardly a step away from Thordís.

 

“Have Erik help you,” The beautiful woman said. She pulled out a strange object that emitted light. She shined the light on Thordís’ arms and legs, looking for injury. Then, she noticed something on the ground, around Thordís, and seemed shocked and excited. She pulled out an instrument of some sort while in some energetic trance “Erik, look at this!” She exclaimed, clicking the device as a light flashed at the ground.

 

“Jane, our focus should be her,” The man, Erik, said gently. Jane, the beautiful woman, put the instrument back into the folds of her clothes. They pushed Thordís onto a scratchy but hard surface and carried her from where she lay to the inside of their carriage, the same object that had the two lights that hit her.

 

“I’ll drive,” Erik said. “You two keep an eye on her.”

 

“Can I just take soil samples, first?” Jane asked.

 

“Jane!” Erik exclaimed.

 

“Can I at least grab our equipment out there?”

 

“Hurry,” Erik urged. The beautiful Jane left, leaving Thordís to look at the other woman, who seemed to shy away from her.

 

“Hi,” The woman said when she noticed that Thordís was staring at her, her blurry gaze was unwavering. “Erik, she’s crying!” The woman said. “Are you in pain?” She asked Thordís. Thordís was in pain, she was also in shock, and she felt too weak to move a single bone.

 

“Okay, I’m back,” Jane said, climbing into the back of the carriage and setting down some metal instruments. She sat beside Thordís and felt her neck, pressing at her pulse. “She’s freaking out, her pulse is really high, and it’s an hour to the hospital.”

 

“Hold on,” Erik said. The carriage lurched.

 

“She’s wearing weird bracelets,” The woman said, holding up one of Thordís’s arms. “They’re really tight, and I can’t see how you take them off.”

 

“I don’t think her jewelry is the most important thing here, Darcy,” Jane said. Thordís felt satisfied to know everyone’s names. She turned her head, muscles straining, to look at Jane again. Jane noticed. “Hi,” She said. “It’s going to be okay, I promise. We’re going to help you figure out where you came from and what happened to you. I am so sorry for hitting you with my car.”

 

Thordís felt strength slowly trickling back into her, and she wanted to answer all the questions swirling in her head, “Where am I?” She asked softly.

 

“Where are you?” Jane asked. “Uh, in my van.” She noticed Thordís’ blank expression. “Outside of Puente Antigo.” Thordís was still looking at her blankly. “In New Mexico. Not Mexico, New Mexico, in the United States.” Thordís didn’t understand any of those places. “Okay, you must really be out of it. You know we’re on Earth, at least?”

 

Thordís was satisfied, Earth was what Midgardians called Midgard. She knew where her father banished her, a place where nobody knew who she was. All of this was overwhelming her, so she closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep. Maybe, if she woke up, it all would have been a bad dream.

 

* * *

 

Thordís wasn’t sure how long she slept, but she awoke in a bed she knew was not her own. The sheets were scratchy and stiff, and she was wearing some sort of thin, short gown. The was a man standing above her with a small blade.

 

“Hi, just taking a little blood,” The man said. Taking her blood? What sort of sinister purpose would that be for? Thordís slapped the blade away from her arm and launched herself out of bed, heading toward the window.

 

“Hey - hey - calm down!” The man exclaimed. “I need some help!” He called.

 

Thordis started pounding on the glass, but she was not as strong as she used to be, her fists bounced off and her hands hurt, as the glass cracked under her barrage. Two men entered the room and grabbed her by either arm, pulling her back toward the bed. She howled like a wounded animal and kicked one in the knee, sending him toppling down. With her free arm, she hiked the second man over her shoulder and onto his compatriot. The man with the blade stood there, hands in the air, stricken. Three more men hurried into the room, lunging for her. She picked up a metal instrument and flung it at one of her assailants, knocking him to the ground. A second tried to grab her arm, and she brought her head into his chin, sending him stumbling backward. Then she struck him in the gut with her knee, driving forward with her hips. He bent over, gasping for air. The third one had some sort of thin blade. He didn’t swing it at her but instead kept trying to grab her arm and bring it toward the blade. She let herself be pulled to him so she could kick him in the groin, wrench the weapon from his hand, and bury the thin point into his chest. His eyes clouded over and he fell forward. She stepped out of the way and had a moment to breathe before a fourth man grabbed her from behind and stabbed an identical blade into her shoulder. She ripped it away, but her vision grew cloudy, and she slumped forward on the bed. The men stood up and tied her to the bed with thick ropes. She screamed and thrashed with all the power she had left, but eventually lost consciousness.

 

When Thordís awoke, she was still restrained. Her strength, while slightly returned, was nothing compared to what she was used to. Her attempts to rip at the thick, blue ropes were feeble. Frustrated, she sighed and arched her back, and her wrists slipped. She realized that her bracelets had made them restrain her slightly too loosely. As she carefully rotated her wrists and pulled, she was able to work her hands free from the restrains. Satisfied, she sat upright and managed to loosen the restraints on her ankles and pull out her feet. Now that she was free, she had to find a way to escape. 

 

Going out the doors would undoubtedly cause for her to encounter the people imprisoning her. She did have one window in her room. She went to it, she could see that she was one level above the ground, and there was a way to escape if she could open the window. It looked like there was a way to slide the window open from the inside, but there were still bars on the window. It was like a piece of netting made from metal over the window. When Thordís touched it, she noticed it wasn’t stable or strong. Either Midgardians were weaker than she thought, she was stronger than she thought, or this netting was not designed to restrict people of her size. She pushed on it and managed to pop the square of netting out of the window, She used the chair to help her have a leg up as she climbed out the window, leaping and rolling when she reached the ground. She wandered around a small garden area before entering a paved field of metal, Midgardian carriages, there were no horses to be found. One of these would be useless without a horse, where were the horses? She continued back down a narrow strip of the black, hot pavement, past carriages, trying to see if she could see where the horses were. She must have circled around several times, and based on the looks of the passing Midgardians, she must also have been suspicious. She told herself if she could not find the horses the fifth time encircling this place, she would leave. As she was walking, one of the carriages suddenly surged backward in front of her, she leaped back. There was no horse. However, through the glass window, she could see that the beautiful Jane and her companions were in this horseless carriage. The glass pane lowered into the metal door of the carriage, somehow autonomously.

 

“We were looking for you,” The beautiful Jane said. “Do you want some clothes or some food?”

 

Thordís nodded, her mouth was dry, and the words were not there. The young Darcy opened a door in the carriage’s back for her to sit in. She pulled the door closed, and this horseless carriage exited the black field onto a road, going far faster than most horses could.

 

“What’s your name?” Jane asked.

 

“Thordís,” She answered.

 

“Tortoise?” Darcy inquired.

 

“Thordís,” Thordís repeated simply.

 

* * *

 

 

The beautiful Jane and her companions brought Thordís to a building with tall, glass windows. The interior was a mess of instruments and tables ladened with paper. It nearly reminded Thordís of her brother’s study, always a mess of magic. Sir Erik kept an eye on her, standing a distance away, watching her as Jane and Darcy retrieved things for her.

 

“I got you some PopTarts,” Darcy said. It wasn’t until Thordís took a bite of the too-sweet pastry did she realize how ravenous she was. She last ate the morning before she was supposed to select a suitor, and that felt like ages ago with all that had transpired since. She ripped open ever metallic package and ate the sweet pastries until there were none left and her tongue hurt. She was still hungry but slightly sated. Jane came forward with a pile of fabric, “These are the only clothes I have that I think will fit you, sorry,” She said. “You’re a lot bigger than Darcy or me.”

 

“They will suffice,” Thordís asked. “Do you have a place where I may change in privacy?”

 

“Yeah, right there,” Jane pointed to a narrow room full of ceramic basins. “The bathroom.”

 

“My thanks,” Thordís nodded. She went into this bathroom and closed the door. She pulled off the thin, stiff gown and looked at what Jane had provided her. The first item was a dark and soft triangle of fabric with one large hole and two smaller ones. Thordís determined this was supposed to cover her groin. After that, there was a white bodice with narrow shoulder straps which ended just below her breasts, keeping them firmly bound to her chest when she moved her torso. The third item of clothing was a very short skirt. One end could stretch to accommodate her body, while the other end was loose and flowing. If she pulled the dress up to where the bodice ended, her bottom and thighs were exposed. However, if she pulled the skirt down to her knees, it did not cover her abdomen. She settled for somewhere between those two extremes, so the dress ended at her mid-thigh, and there was a strip of flesh on her torso exposed. The last item she thought was some sort of red and black patterned cape until she saw the two sashes were actually sleeves. Once she put it on, it was an outer layer. She could button it, but it was restricting like a corset when she did so, pulled taut by her shoulders, arms, and breasts, and she did not see Jane nor Darcy looking restricted, so Thordís left this last layer unbuttoned.

 

She opened the door and came out of this bathroom, the three Midgardians looked at her strangely, she supposed she was probably wearing some articles of clothing wrong, but she did not care, she was comfortable.

 

“Do you have anything to guard my feet, boots, perhaps?” Thordís asked.

 

“I think I have a pair of flip-flops that will fit her,” Darcy said, peering down at Thordís’s feet. She left and returned with soft sandals of a vibrant green shade. When Thordís put them on, a thin strap that ran between her toes and over the top of her foot kept them on. Thordís was not exactly fond of these shoes, but she was grateful for the alternative from bare feet.

 

“I am still hungry,” Thordís said.

 

“You ate a whole box of PopTarts,” Darcy said.

 

"We don’t know how long it’s been since she ate,” Jane said. “If I take you out for breakfast, can we talk?”

 

“Whatever you desire,” Thordís nodded. “Shall we return to your carriage?”

 

“Uh… I guess,” Jane said. Thordís set off in the direction of the vehicle, while the trio of Midgardians lingered behind her.

 

“You know, for a crazy homeless woman, she’s really hot,” Darcy said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who read!
> 
> I adore hearing from you, and every comment/kudos/bookmark/subscription is welcome and beloved!
> 
> Until the next chapter!  
> :)


	4. Worth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who read, gave kudos, or commented so far. I was in such a good mood today I decided to break my schedule and update today!

The amount of food that Thordís ordered and managed to start eating was astounding. Bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, biscuits with gravy, grits, and chicken with waffles. Darcy, Selvig and some of the other patrons gaped in awe at this woman shoveling forkfuls of food into her mouth at an unyielding rate.

“Now, tell us exactly what happened to you last night,” Jane said, pen and notebook ready to start recording. Thordís looked up at her curiously. Jane looked away, flustered for some reason even she couldn’t know. Jane shook herself and continued, “Maybe start with how you got inside that cloud?”

“And how you could eat an entire box of PopTarts and still be this hungry,” Darcy added in a dry voice, still shocked at Thordís’ appetite.

Thordís did not answer either of their questions. She instead drowned a mug of coffee and looked at the empty vessel in amazement “This drink,” She said. “I like it.”

“Yeah, it’s great, isn’t it? Isabella makes the best coffee in town,” Darcy agreed.

“Another!” Thordís boomed, slamming the mug back onto the table. The diner’s owner, Isabella Alvarez, glared and Thordís’ rudeness. However, she came over to refill the mug. Then, she went back to behind the counter, saying to the waitress in Spanish, “You would think she would finally bring a man in here, but instead it’s just some rude, vagrant girl.”

“That was a little rude,” Jane said to Thordís at the same time, apparently not able to understand the other language.

“I meant no disrespect,” Thordís said.

“All right, just, no more slamming things. Deal?” Jane asked.

“You have my word,” Thordís nodded.

“Good,” Jane said, satisfied.

Meanwhile, Through the front door, several bedraggled men trudged into the diner.

“Morning, Pete. Jake,” Isabella said.

“The usual, please, Izzy,” Pete said.

“You missed all the excitement out at the crater,” Jake slurred.

“What crater?” Isabella asked. Selvig and Jane turned to overhear the conversation.

“They're saying some kind of satellite crashed in the desert,” Pete said.

“We were having a good time with it ‘til the feds showed up, chased us out,” Jake added.

“I’m sorry, did you say there was a satellite crash?” Jane asked.

“Yep,” Jake said. “They said it was radioactive and I had my hands all over it.” He paused for a moment, and then said with dawning realization, “I’m probably sterile now.”

Thordís was unconcerned by all of this, and instead was digging into the mound of pancakes with little regard of being ladylike.

“Oh my God, this is going on Facebook,” Darcy said, pulling out a rectangle. “Smile!” She called to Thordís.

Thordís looked up, puzzled, but did what Darcy wanted and grinned with a mouthful of buttermilk sponge.

“What did the satellite look like?” Selvig asked the two townsmen.

“I don’t know nothing about satellites. But it was heavy. Real heavy. Nobody could lift it,” Jake said.

Thordís lifted her head and finally focused on the conversation. “Where is this satellite?” Thordís asked, as she slowly rose to her feet. She did not want Mjolnir in the hands of a foreign government. Furthermore, perhaps it was here as a way to bring her home. She immediately knew she needed to find it before these government people found a way to lift it beyond using their weak, human arms.

“About twelve miles east of here,” Jake said. “Although I wouldn’t bother, sweetheart. Looked like the whole Army was coming in when we left.”

Thordís did not care. She had encountered many armies, and she was sure, even in her weakened state, she could retrieve Mjolnir. Then, she hoped she would be able to return home. That was the point of this test. Wasn't it? To prove her strength. Her father wanted to know that she would be able to survive by herself, to protect the realm. What other way would he expect her to prove her worth with Mjolnir? It was a weapon if he provided her with a weapon, she was supposed to fight, and fight she would. Kill, she would not. That was the error on Jotunheim, was it not? She killed when she could injure, causing any unnecessary death. Her father was giving her a chance to fight without causing death, to show restraint and strength.

“Where are you going?” Jane called, hurrying after Thordís.

“Twelve miles east of here,” Thordís said as she studied the sun. Once she got her bearings, she set off eastward.

“Why?” Jane asked.

“To get what belongs to me,” Thordís said, continuing. Jane followed behind her.

“So now you own a satellite?” Jane asked.

“It’s not what they say it is,” Thordís replied.

“Whatever it is, the government seems to think it’s theirs. You intend to just walk in there and take it?” Jane asked.

“Yes,” Thordís said simply. She stopped and turned to address Jane directly. “If you take me there now, I will tell you everything you wish to know.”

“Everything?” Jane asked.

“All the answers you seek will be yours, once I reclaim Mjolnir,” Thordís said with certainty.

“Myeu-much? What’s Myeu-muh?” Darcy asked as she and Selvig hurried over. Jane looked at Thordís intently. Thordís was evidently apparently sincere, and Jane was nearly swayed.

“Jane,” Selvig pulled her aside. The pair whispered between each other, leaving Thordís to strain her ears and hope that the beautiful Jane would be even more kind to her. However, Selvig seemed profoundly steadfast, and Jane turned to Thordís with a defeated expression.

“I’m sorry, I can’t take you,” Jane said.

Thordís nodded, “I understand. Then this is where we say goodbye.” She curtsied slightly at the trio, “Jane Foster, Erik Selvig, Darcy, I bid you all farewell.” She turned around and continued her path to Mjolnir. She needed some sort of mode of transport, as twelve miles on foot would take far too long. Thordís tried to purchase a horse, or some other large, tamed animal, but it seemed that the only animals offered in this town were those for hunting or companionship. There were not even cats large enough to pull a chariot like the did for her aunt. A horn called to her, and Jane was there in her carriage. 

“You still want a lift?” Jane asked. Thordís climbed into the seat beside her, and the carriage sped east.

“I’ve never done anything like this before!” Jane said with excitement once they left the outskirts of the town. “Have you ever done anything like this before?”

Thordís smiled at Jane with amusement and endearment, “Many times, you are brave to do it.”

“They just stole my entire life’s work, I really don’t have anything left to lose,” Jane admitted.

“But you’re clever, far more clever than anyone else in this Realm,” Thordís complimented her.

“‘This Realm?’ Why do you talk like that?”

“You think me strange?” Thordís asked.

Jane laughed, “Yeah, just a little.”

“Good strange or bad strange?” Thordís inquired.

“I’m not quite sure yet,” Jane admitted. Thordís looked at Jane intently, appreciative of her honesty. Perhaps Thordís was quite strange to a Midgardian, of course, this particular Midgardian was quite strange to her. Besides her beauty and her brilliance, she was also kind and had been a great aid to Thordís since she was first banished to this planet. Jane was also looking at Thordís, gazing. She suddenly looked away, focusing on her control of the carriage, “Sorry,” She said. Thordís nodded, and looked ahead, trying to exude confidence. She had never fought in this weakened state. She would need to recall her training if she hoped to succeed.

“Who are you, really?” Jane asked.

“You’ll see soon enough,” Thordís said.

“You promised me answers,” Jane said.

Thordís was charmed by her doggedness. Her bold personality and her confidence made her even more pleasing than her countenance. “What you seek is a bridge,” Thordís answered, trying to explain in a way that she could understand.”

“A bridge? Like an Einstein-Rosen Bridge?” Jane asked.

Thordís was unsure what that meant, “More like a rainbow bridge.”

There was a long pause. “God, I hope you’re not crazy,” Jane said.

 

* * *

 

When they stepped out of the carriage some distance from the bright and white commune built around Mjolnir, Thordís could feel slightly more power seeping into her. She could smell the metal in the air, and new that rainfall was coming. Several black carriages were surrounding this commune, as well as a high density of guards, and circular above-ground tunnels made of a mostly opaque, white material that undoubtedly meant multiple internal entrances and checkpoints she would have to pass through. Thordís shrugged out of the flannel she was wearing and handed the garment to Jane, “You’re going to need this,” Thordís said.

“Why?” Jane asked.

As if on cue, thunder rumbled overhead. Jane snatched the flannel from Thordís.

“Stay here. Once I have Mjolnir, I will return what they stole from you,” Thordís said.

“No!” Jane gaped. “Look what’s down there!” She pointed to the legion of guards. “You can’t just walk in, grab our stuff, and walk out!”

“No,” Thordís agreed. Jane looked slightly relieved. Thordís grinned, “I’m going to fly out.”

As Thordís headed toward the crater, droplets of rain began to descend from the sky. As she got closer to her hammer, she felt the cuffs on her wrists become lighter, and more power crackle in her veins. She reached the metal fence that surrounded the entire commune. There were posts staked into the ground, and a woven chain of metal fused to these posts, but not staked into the ground. Thordís grabbed the bottom of this woven chain and heaved, bending and folding the metal upward. She quite enjoyed this skirt, it did not restrict her movement as she had experienced with skirts and battle in the past. Perhaps it was because of the nature of the waistband and the flowing fabric, she could move freely. Before she could slip through the gap, she heard the sound of a carriage coming. She hid behind some black barrels and waited for the two guards to investigate the hole she made. The carriage stopped, front lights shining on the gap. She slowly crept closer as they opened the doors of their transport and then she rose to her feet. A flash of lightning illuminated her in the darkness, but it was too late for the guards. They reached for their weapons, but she incapacitated them by elbowing one in the jaw and using the hilt of the other’s weapon to hit him in the face. She stole one of the cloaks with this organization’s symbol, a geometric bird. And she slipped through the gap, now much more covered and disguised. She managed to get several yards before all the lights in the area blasted to life and a loud alarm blared. Thordís tried her best to still sneak behind barricades and supply caches and avoid the sweeping beams of light from the lookouts. 

By a temporary barrack, she encountered a guard. His first instinct was to signal for assistance, which allowed her to take away his weapon and choke him to submission. She grabbed his weapon, unsure how to use it, but it seemed like some sort of long-range device. She peered around. It was clear that Mjolnir was surrounded by the opaque, plastic tunnels. If she wanted to retrieve her hammer, she would have to breach them

As she headed toward the entrance, a bright light from a small uncovered carriage shone in her face. The driver also reached for his communication device, so she hurled the weapon at him, and it hit him right in the face. He fell off the carriage, and it continued to barrel toward her, she leaped out of the way and let it keep its chaotic path through the compound, distracting the guards at the nearest entrance and allowing her to enter the tunnels. She snuck through the tunnels. It seemed this opaque and white material was some sort of crinkly fabric and did not seem particularly suitable for defense. Perhaps it was for quarantine, as the origins of Mjolnir would have been unknown?

She hurried up a ramp, and two guards rounded on her. The first one she took out by kicking away his knee and slamming her elbow into the side of his head. She tackled the second one and lost her neon green sandals in the process.  He climbed to his knees, but she slipped one arm over his nape and one beneath his arms, clasping her hands and pulling her elbows together. He flipped onto his back. She then held a hand against his windpipe until he slumped, unconscious. She sprung up and continued. Several more guards were coming toward her, onto the walkway she was on via ladder. She kicked the first one squared in the face, and he slipped down, the others tumbling with him. Through the slightly clear pocket of this fabric, she could see Mjolnir in the very center of this compound. Now she knew exactly where she was going. She navigated her way through the labyrinth of fabric tunnels. As guards encountered her, she elbowed them, kicked them, pushed them, punched them. Any way to keep moving. Their numbers would not matter once she had Mjolnir. She passed through several crossroad boxes, always trying to pick the one that would lead her deeper into the compound. She rounded a corner, and she saw Mjolnir - no fabric obstructing them. She stepped forward when all of a sudden a strong fist hit her in the jaw, sending her reeling backward and onto her bottom. She looked up to see a huge man, the only thing standing between her and her hammer.

“You’re big,” Thordís grinned, slowly standing. “Fought bigger.”

With all her might, she leaped into the huge guard and pushed him into the fabric wall. It split like paper with his weight, and the two of them were sent tumbling into the mud. Lightning crackled overhead, and a torrent of metallic-scented rain bogged down on them. Both she and this colossal man struggled to their feet in the slick mud. Thordís grabbed a handful of it on her way up and hurled it at his face. It blinded the man, he clutched at his eyes and thrashed at her wildly. She dodged his wide swings, grabbing his arm, twisting in his grasp, and flipping him over her shoulder. She then sprung into the air and brought her elbow down hard into the top of his abdomen, winding him. With him down on the ground, blind and gasping for air, she pushed through the hole they made in the fabric tunnel and headed to the center of the compound, the crater where Mjolnir sat.

Mjolnir began to glow brighter as she approached, sparks of energy crackling. She confidently approached the hammer, her fingers were buzzing with energy as she reached out to grasp the hilt. She pulled on the hammer, but it did not budge in her grasp. Electricity crackled off of it, bouncing off her bracelets and up her arms. It was the cold, strong lightning she had wielded before, and it was not hurting her. But for some reason, she could not lift Mjolnir. She heaved again, electricity crackled around her, sparking off her body to hit the equipment around her, these people’s instruments exploded as she screamed and heaved, feet sinking into the mud. But Mjolnir would not - could not budge. They were both cursed by her father, no matter how much the hammer wished to be wielded by her, she could not lift it. She was still unworthy.

She dropped to her knees, defeated. The guards moved in around her and dragged her to some dungeon. She did not care in the slightest. She was unworthy.

 

She stared forward blankly as a man in some uniform tried to speak to her, “ It's not easy to do what you did. You made us all look like a bunch of mall cops. That's hurtful.” Thordís did not even care of the accomplishments, for it was all for naught. “The men you so easily subdued are highly-trained professionals, and in my experience, it takes someone who's received similar training to do what you did to them. Would you like to tell me where you received your training?” Thordís stayed silent. There was nothing she could say that would make anyone in this realm believe her, for she was nothing without her hammer. “Pakistan? Chechnya? Afghanistan? Then again, you strike me more as the child soldier type. What was it, Red Room?” The man leaned close to her, “Certain groups pay well for a good mercenary.” There was still no response from Thordís. “Who are you?” He asked, defeated by her silence.

“Nothing,” Thordís said dully.

“I don’t know if you and I experienced the same things tonight, but your little show down there was certainly not 'nothing'. One way or another, we find out what we want to know. We’re good at that.” The man left. Thordís lowered her head and stared at her bracelets, energy drained from her once more, it seemed.

“I thought he’d never leave,” A soft voice said. Thordís’ head snapped up. Standing there, in Midgardian clothes, was Loki.

“Loki? What are you doing here?” Thordís asked, both eager to see her little brother, and afraid of why he came.

“I had to see you,” Loki said, in a tone that did not appease her.

“What happened? Tell me? Is it Jotunheim? Let me explain to Father-”

“You can’t explain anything to Father anymore,” Loki said.

“What?” Thordís asked.

“He has fallen into the Odinsleep,” Loki said. “Mother fears that this time, he will not wake up. It is not like the others. It is too deep, too strong. Your banishment, the threat of a new war, it was too much for him to bear. And he had been putting it off for so long as you had been putting off your engagement.”

Thordís suddenly felt the implications of her brother’s words. All of this was her fault. Loki stepped closer, with a consoling expression.

“You mustn’t blame yourself. I know that you loved him. I tried to tell him so, but he wouldn’t listen.” Loki looked unusually vulnerable. “I keep trying to fix things, and they’re not working. They’re never working.”

“If it is not my fault, Loki, then it cannot be yours,” Thordís said softly, trying to assure her little brother. His pained expression did not soften. If anything, it hardened.

“The burden of the throne has fallen to me now,” Loki said.

“You were always the better suited one for the role, between us,” Thordís said. Then, she had a terrible thought. If Loki was the King of Asgard - “Can I come home now?”

“The truce with Jotunheim is conditional upon your exile,” Loki said. “That is what father arranged before he - and I can’t undo that. I want to, but... things are fragile already.”

“I understand,” Thordís said, defeated. “The peace of the realms is far more important than I am.” She sighed, “Think positively, Loki. Asgard is in good hands - yours. The lendmen will be appeased with a man on the throne of Asgard. And I am no longer bound to the throne and the requisite of marriage.”

“I’m so sorry,” Loki said. “I thought Father sent Mjolnir down here to defend yourself, but as you cannot lift it… it either must be a cruel testament of your banishment, or some sort of test. He did enchant it in some manner before your exile. But even if you can wield Mjolnir again - I don’t want to say goodbye. If the Frost Giants were gone-”

“Peace is more important,” Thordís said harshly. “This has to be goodbye, Brother. For the good of the realms.” She stood up and wrapped her muddy arms around her brother’s clean suit. “Promise me you will be good, Loki.”

“Promise,” Loki said, voice raw.

“I love you, brother.”

“And I love you,” Loki said. He stepped away. “Goodbye.” He vanished.

“Goodbye,” Thordís said to the air.

“Goodbye?” The man who was interrogating her questioned, returning to the room. “I just got back. Now, where did we leave off?” Thordís sunk back into her chair. She wished she had time to mull over what her brother had said before being subjected to this again. “Who are you?”

Thordís was silent again, staring forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who read!
> 
> I adore hearing from you, and every comment/kudos/bookmark/subscription is welcome and beloved!
> 
> Until the next chapter!  
> :)


	5. Explanation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again to everyone reading and providing feedback!
> 
> This is the final chapter from Thordís' perspective, but there will be an epilogue focused on Loki.

After another period of loneliness, the door to Thordís’ cell opened again, but this time, it was not just the man in the suit. Erik Selvig came in, beaming, “Donna! There you are!” He pulled her to her feet and hugged her. “It’s going to be alright, my dear, come on, I’m taking you home.” Selvig led Thordís out of the room. It seemed that he managed to persuade these men that she was a mortal named Donna. As she looked around, worried they would attack the pair from behind before they reached safety, Thordís noticed a tarp covering Jane’s equipment. She could not return Jane everything, but it would be far too easy to slip the small journal when she passed it. So, that is precisely what Thordís did.

 

“Just keep her away from the bars,” The agent called after them as they were, actually, free to leave.

 

“I will!” Selvig called. Once they were far enough away from the compound, Selvig’s pleasant demeanor faded to agitation.

 

“Where are we going?” Thordís asked.

 

“To get a drink,” Selvig said. They climbed into the carriage and set off back to the town.

 

They found their way to a tavern, which smelled musty and acidic. The pair sat at the bar, and Selvig ordered them mugs of beer and small glasses of a much stronger whiskey. Thordís observed as Selvig poured the small glass into his flagon and drowned the mixture. Thordís followed suit, chugging to completion before her Midgardian drinking companion.

 

“Seems Darcy’s a terrible intern, but a talented hacker,” Selvig said. Thordís was unsure what he meant, but she understood the generality.

 

“Thank you for what you’ve done.”

 

“Don’t thank me. I only did it for Jane.”

 

“Are you in love with her?” Thordís asked, unsure why a man would treat a woman with such kindness.

 

“Of course not! Jane’s like a daughter to me. Her father and I taught at University together. A good man, but he never listened.”

 

“That sounds like mine,” Thordís said. “He is a great man, but not a very good father.”

 

“I don’t know if you’re really delusional, and I really don’t care at this point. I just care about her. And she seems to be following you into all sorts of danger,” Selvig said.

 

“I swear to you, I mean her no harm,” Thordís said.

 

“Good. If that’s the case, then I’ll buy you one more drink, and you’ll leave town tonight,” Selvig said. Thordís didn’t know what she would do without the resources that Jane and Darcy had provided her, but she knew it was best that she got as far away from Mjolnir as possible, and found something worthwhile. So, Thordís nodded at Selvig.

 

However, it seemed that one drink became two, and as often happened, alcohol weakened Thordís’ lips, “I did it all wrong. I was selfish and too sure that it would all conclude itself in my favor, as had always happened before,” Thordís complained.

 

“It's not a bad thing, finding out that you don't have all the answers. That's when you start asking the right questions,” Selvig advised.

 

“Now, I am free, but I am also lost. I am no longer bound to marriage by my father’s wishes, but I am left here with nothing,” Thordís said. “And for the first time in my life, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.”

 

“We’ll unpack the marriage… later,” Selvig said. “Listen, anyone who’s ever going to find their way in this world has to start by admitting they don’t know where the hell they are.”

 

“Oh, lookie here,” A voice crooned from across the bar. “I saw you in the diner with that other hot girl. Now, I wouldn’t mind the two of you doing a little research on me.” It was one of the men who had discovered the satellite.

 

“I have no quarrel with you, sir,” Thordís said. “But please be more respectful of the lady, Jane, as she is not here to defend herself.”

 

“Shut the hell up, princess,” The man said, stepping closer to Thordís, huffing his bitter breath across her face. “Or I’m going to make you.”

 

“Your mother and forefathers must be ashamed of you,” Thordís said, unfazed by his attempts to intimidate her. “Or else your parents must have abysmally failed at teaching you to respect others. Regardless, you should learn to treat the people around you with more compassion. Otherwise, you shall lack any meaningful relationships, romantic or otherwise, and will pass on as a sad, lonely, and repressed soul.”

 

“Are you insulting my mother? How dare you!” The man exclaimed.

 

“Exactly,” Thordís said. “You must uphold the honor of all individuals, and respect all people as if they were your mother. I hope to see you develop the compassion, altruism, and honor you currently lack. Now, please leave us, and dwell on yourself,” She turned back to her mug of beer. The man looked at his friends, who refused to back him up before they all left.

 

Selvig clearly impressed by her effective mediation.

 

“I often find myself defending the honor of myself or another woman at an establishment such as this,” Thordís explained. “Although, I admit this is the first time I attempted to do so without having to injure or maim anyone.”

 

“Are you a goddess?” Selvig asked abruptly. “Because I knew these stories, when I was little, of Princess Thordís. Daughter of Odin. She was the goddess of agriculture, animal husbandry, hallowing, fertility, and storms. But they never mentioned her fighting people.”

 

“Aye,” Thordís nodded. “Well, what many people do not know of the daughter of Odin is that she did not like all the responsibilities attached to being Queen. And her irresponsibility led to her finding a hobby of fighting as a Valkyrie behind her father’s back. Which is why he banished her.”

 

“Mythically speaking, I don’t remember her ever being banished.”

 

“Well, mythically speaking, it takes quite a while for recent events to sink in,” Thordís said. Selvig shook his head, but then he glanced at her questioningly. Maybe he was starting to believe her.

 

* * *

 

Sometime later, Thordís decided that Selvig was far too inebriated to continue drinking. She paid off his tab as he was too confused to manage his own finances. Luckily, it was only women on Asgard who handled the finances as men considered mathematical prowess to be a sign of infertility or maleficence, so Thordís had plenty of experience. She helped march him out of the tavern. As the carriages had to be controlled by a mortal, Thordís was unsure how to manage one, and Selvig was too drunk for Thordís to trust him, the pair walked back to Jane’s lab. Selvig began to sing an old folk song, and Thordís chimed in, knowing the tune and even some of the verses. It was an Asgardian song and dance.

 

“The mood is good, our hearts are full, there's magic in the air. / It's all because we're here tonight, and haven't got a care. / So raise a glass, and toast to life, wherever it may lead / Tra-la-la, tra-la-la, a friend is fine indeed. / Tra-la-la, tra-la-la, a friend is fine indeed!” On the final verse, when the pair were supposed to slap hands, Selvig toppled over and onto the pavement, completely disoriented from the liquor. Thordís pulled him onto her shoulders and hefted Selvig back to Jane’s living space as he squirmed in her grasp. She knocked on the door of Jane’s shack, and Jane immediately greeted them at the door.

 

“Erik!” Jane exclaimed, seeing him unconscious in Thordís’ arms. “Is he alright?”

 

“He’s fine, not injured at all,” Thordís brought Selvig into the small shack, accidentally hitting his head on the door frame. “Sorry, my friend.”

 

“What happened?” Jane asked.

 

“We drank,” Thordís said. “And we sang old songs together. He made his ancestors proud. I have a better understanding of this man, now.”

 

“Put him on the bed,” Jane advised. Thordís and Selvig managed to knock over several things, but eventually, Selvig was in bed.

 

“I still don’t believe you’re the goddess of Thunder,” Selvig said groggily. He paused, “but you should be.”

 

Thordís grinned and patted Selvig’s cheek affectionately. As he drifted to sleep, she pulled a blanket over him. Jane seemed stunned at the new friendship and tenderness between the two.

 

“There are your chambers?” Thordís asked.

 

Jane immediately began to clean, as if she suddenly realized she had guests and he home was untidy, “Well, it’s more of a, er, temporary living space, really. I don’t usually have visitors in here. Actually, never -” She paused, clearly overwhelmed. “Can we go outside?”

 

“Of course,” Thordís nodded. She often slept outdoors when on quests or campaigns with her brother, Sif, and the warriors three. She tried to expel those memories from her mind immediately, however. They were still too painful.

 

Outside, they settled into long lounging chairs before a fire, with blankets to keep them warm.

 

“I’m glad you’re safe,” Jane said.

 

“You’ve been very kind,” Thordís said. “I’ve been far less grateful than you deserve.”

 

“I also hit you with my car, so it kind of evens out,” Jane joked. Thordís smiled, but she knew that the debt had to be repaid. She reached into the jacket Selvig had given to her and pulled out Jane’s journal.

 

“I don’t believe it!” Jane gasped, instantly recognizing the notebook.

 

“It was all I could get back and was not as much as I promised. For that, I’m sorry.”

 

“No,” Jane assured her. “This is good. Thank you, this means I don’t have to start from scratch-” She started flipping through the notebook when a harsh realization clouded across her face.

 

“What is wrong?” Thordís asked.

 

“S.H.I.E.L.D., whatever they are, they’re not going to let this research see the light of the day,” she said.

 

“You must do this, you must finish what you’ve started,” Thordís said.

 

“Why?” Jane asked.

 

“Because, you are right,” Thordís had said. She had flipped through the notebook when Selvig was off relieving himself, and Jane’s observations astounded her. “It’s taken so many generations for your people to get to this point, you’re nearly there. You just need someone to show you how close you really are.”

 

Jane looked at Thordís questioningly and shove her the notebook. Thordís opened it to a page where she remembered there was a sketch that was very close, she began to add to it, “Look, your ancestors called it magic. You call it science. Where I come from, they are one and the same.”

 

“What is it?” Jane asked, referring to her sketch.

 

“This is how my father explained it to me. Your world is one of the Nine Realms of the Cosmos, linked to each other by the branches of Yggdrasil, the Worlds Tree. Now, you see it every day, without realizing it. Images glimpsed through - what did you call it? The Hooble Telescope?”

 

“The Hubble,” Jane corrected.

 

“So, the nine realms,” She continued sketching. Jane watched, enraptured, posting questions as Thordís explained the universe to her understanding. The function of the Bifrost to harness and challenge connections within this universal natural current of energy. Once Thordís finished her explanation, she realized that Jane had drifted to sleep. She tucked Jane in and sat back down on the chair, looking up at the sky and wondering what was happening at that moment on Asgard.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Thordís and Jane worked together to make breakfast for Selvig and Darcy. Selvig was nursing a terrible hangover from the events of the previous night, while Darcy was a college student who only knew how to make food from a microwave.

 

“Thanks,” Darcy said as Thordís served them plates of eggs, bacon, and fruit.

 

“You’re very welcome,” Thordís said.

 

As they ate their breakfast and drank their coffee, Thordís suddenly remembered how rude she was the previous morning to the owner of the diner, slamming around dishware. She was still adjusting to the culture of Midgard, but she knew that it was hypocritical of her to berate a man for being rude to her when she had been rude earlier that day.

 

“Excuse me, I need to run an errand,” Thordís said once she finished her breakfast. She headed over to the diner, seeking out the owner, Isabel. She also decided to utilize the woman’s native tongue so there would be little confusion of her intentions.

 

“I would like to apologize for my behavior the previous day,” Thordís said. The woman seemed surprised, maybe because of the language which Thordís was using, or maybe because of her apology. “I was not thinking of being respectful and polite, and I fear I may have insulted you. Please, forgive my behavior. If I may, I’d like to come back for more of your coffee.”

 

“Thank you,” Isabella said. “You are welcome anytime.”

 

Thordís returned to Jane, Darcy, and Selvig to help them clean up after breakfast, washing and drying dishes. There was a loud, hurried knocking on the glass windows of Jane’s workspace. They all turned around, and Thordís beamed when she saw who was there. Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun, and Sif were outside, smiling to find her, safe and sound.

 

“My friends!” She exclaimed and let them in, as the Midgardians puzzled amongst themselves. “What are you going here? I’ve never been happier to see you, but you should not have come.”

 

“We’re here to take you home,” Fandral said.

 

“You know I can’t,” Thordís said. “Loki came to speak with me, the peace alliance with Jotunheim depends on my banishment.”

 

“Yes, but we can bargain with the Frost Giants, we can raze Jotunheim, slaughter them into compliance-” Volstagg began.

 

“We will do nothing of the sort,” Thordís said sternly. “Asgard is my home, and I shall miss it dearly, but I will do what is best for my people. And what is best for them is peace, not war.” She said. “Not to mention your being here is technically treason, and bringing me back would put you all in danger.”

 

“So you are to just die a mortal?” Sif asked. “Fade and wither before our eyes?”

 

“We don’t age _that_ quickly,” Darcy complained from where she, Jane and Selvig were huddled together.

 

“To us, you do,” Sif said. She settled back on Thordis. “Is this what you really want?”

 

“I want what is best for Asgard,” Thordís said. “And so, I suppose, it is what I want.”

 

“May you at least accompany us on our way back to the point of the Bifrost?” Hogun asked, surprisingly gentle.

 

“Of course,” Thordís said. “Jane, Darcy, Erik, do you wish to accompany us?”

 

“Yes,” Jane said immediately. Darcy and Erik agreed as well. The eight of them left the lab and headed through Puente Antigo, getting several strange looks.

 

“I should tell you that you and your friends were being spied upon by some strange men with lovely food,” Volstagg said.

 

“S.H.I.E.L.D.?” Jane suggested.

 

“I assume they are still interested in me after I breached their compound and made quite a mess,” Thordís said. “Thank you Volstagg. Perhaps, I should speak to that son of Coul.”

 

“Speak to him or _speak_ to him?” Darcy asked, punching the air at the second _speak_.

 

“Simply speak,” Thordís said.

 

“He seemed pretty unreasonable when we spoke to him,” Jane said. “Not to mention the fact that E.T. showed us exactly why letting the alien speak to the government is a bad idea-”

 

“We may not have a choice, Jane,” Erik said. The direction they were being led to had a series of government vehicles surrounding it.

 

“What do you say, Thordís, one last brawl?” Fandral asked cheerily.

 

“I think not,” Thordís said. “Let us try diplomacy.”

 

Thordís surged forward toward the vehicles, and she could feel the confused expressions of her friends behind her. Without Mjolnir at her side, she began to realize the value in the things she was supposed to have learned long ago. Speaking to that man at the bar the night before, and it was Selvig and Darcy’s trickery that freed her from S.H.I.E.L.D., not her strength. She was slowly gaining an understanding of the value of knowing when not to fight. Even if she had gone to Jotunheim looking for information, her recklessness, eagerness to prove herself, and thirst for battle had caused her banishment to earth. She still disagreed with Odin on many things, especially her forced engagements, but his wisdom was becoming starker to her now that she needed it.

 

They reached the cars. Some agents reacted by raising their armaments at the group. Thordís instinctually stepped in the path of these weapons and held back the Asgardians. The interrogator, Coulson, manifested before here with an amused expression on his face.

 

“I’ve got this feeling that you haven’t been completely honest with me,” Coulson said.

 

“Aye, regretfully,” Thordís agreed. “But I have decided to be honest now, as long as you promise your men will lower their arms and not attack.”

 

“Unless you attack us, again,” Coulson said.

 

“I have no plans for violence,” Thordís said. Coulson waved at his men, and the pocketed their weapons. He looked at her expectantly. “My name is Thordís Odinsdottir, I am the Princess of Asgard, a different realm. I made an error in judgment and visited the realm of Jotunheim, threatening war. My father banished me for this, sending to Midgard - Earth - myself, and my weapon, Mjolnir. That is the ‘satellite’ you have been analyzing. There is an enchantment upon Mjolnir. One whereby nobody can lift it. These runes you study here are the markings of an opening of the Bifrost, our gateway between realms. My friends - Sif and the Warriors Three - must return to Asgard posthaste. If you allow them to pass and use the Bifrost, I will let you ask me whatever questions or perform whatever analyses you wish on me.”

 

“Sir,” A bald man said to the Son of Coul, “We can’t just let them-”

 

“I’m curious, Sitwell,” Coulson said. “Let them through.” He nodded at some agents who started pulling out instruments with screens and long tubes, pointed at the circle of runes on the ground.

 

The agents and car doors parted so the four Asgardians could stand in the center of the Bifrost. “Heimdall!” They called. “Open the Bifrost!”

 

In the sky above, dark clouds gathered, and bursting through them was a chromatic array of light. Thordís waved farewell at her friends as they disappeared in the stunning light of the Bifrost. Then, the light retreated into the sky, the clouds disappeared, and the runes in the ground burned even deeper. Surprisingly, a great relief flooded through Thordís. As if something heavy upon her had left. Her body flooded with warmth, and she felt stronger, rejuvenated.

 

“Different realms, you said?” Coulson asked, sounding more amused than surprised.

 

* * *

 

Per their agreement, Thordís went back to the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility with Coulson and answered every question he had. She allowed his people to take small samples of her blood and saliva, to analyze her microbiological structure. Coulson must have questioned her for hours about the realms, being much kinder than he had been before, and utterly unsurprised. Night fell, and he offered to drive her back to Jane’s lab, which surprised her. She was less surprised when she saw people loading carriages of Jane’s things and following them.

 

“You’re giving Jane her equipment back?” Thordís asked Coulson.

 

“Absolutely,” Coulson said. “If she’s as close as you say she is to understanding your Bifrost, I’d like to see her continue the research with her.”

 

Thordís found herself smiling at the thought. They reached Jane’s lab.

 

Jane, Darcy, and Erik were shocked that Thordís returned, and ecstatic to see Jane’s equipment did as well. Coulson explained to Jane, Darcy, Erik, and Thordís that SHIELD wanted them to continue understanding these bridges of travel. They would have access to some of SHIELD’s data during the spectacle that morning, as long as they checked in once a week with any critical updates and, most importantly, Thordís’ location. They had to sign some lengthy waivers and contracts on what they were and were not allowed to tell people. Lastly, Coulson gave Thordís a passport, a credit card, and social security number, all indicating that her name was Donna Blake, and she was born in the year 1983.

 

The next morning, the SHIELD compound was gone. The crater where Mjolnir was sitting was surrounded by tape that warned of danger and irradiated soil. Jane was eager to recheck all her equipment to make sure none of it was mishandled, and as Thordís was only really useful at lifting things for Jane, for the time being, she decided to take a long walk as dusk fell, getting acquainted with the arid landscape of New Mexico which would be her home for the foreseeable future. She found herself walking to the crater, which was now being ardently avoided by the people of Puente Antigo. She headed down the ridge of the cavity and into the center where Mjolnir sat, lonely. Thordís felt exactly like how it looked. She sat down beside the hammer.

 

“I am sorry,” She told it. She reached out to it, and a bright spark jumped to her hand. She wrapped her fingers around the hilt and felt energy buzzing between it and her. Electricity crackled up her arm. She backed away, expecting the handle to slip out of her hand, but she pulled it with her, lifting Mjolnir. The electricity surrounded her, and her clothes shifted to silver and dark blue armor. Her armor, and her helmet, as well. She felt it’s familiar weight on her head. She lowered the faceplate, realizing that her powers were fully restored. She quickly set Mjolnir down and broke away from the power. Her armor evaporated off of her. She gave a dry chuckle. The test her father wished her to prove was that she could do what was best for Asgard, that she was worthy of her titles and her forefathers. And ironically, to be a worthy Asgardian in his eyes, to be devoted to what he perceived as responsible, she could not return to Asgard. She knew that being here, on Earth, was the best way to ensure the peace and safety of the realms. However, she knew that if Earth needed her, the last Valkyrie could defend it. Thordís had sat down outside to stare longingly at the stars.

 

“You’re going to miss them, I bet,” Jane said, Thordís had no idea she was there. She must have followed Thordís, or she was smart enough to know where Thordís would have gone. Had Jane seen Thordís’ transformation? She didn’t seem to act like it. She sat down beside Thordís, a sympathetically curious expression on her face.

 

“Yes,” Thordís admitted.

 

“I’m sorry,” Jane said, setting a hand down on Thordís’ in a reassuring manner. Thordís looked up at Jane. Beautiful Jane, who showed her nothing but compassion since she arrived on Midgard. Thordís was fortunate to have crossed paths with such a gentle, honorable, and brilliant young woman. Thordís was free from the throne, and the responsibilities of marriage. Which meant that she might indulge in the things she had desired for quite some time. She leaned closer to Jane, letting her feel the warmth of Jane’s breath. She stopped for a moment, far enough away that Jane could easily pull apart. In a heartbeat, Jane pushed forward to fill the space between them and kiss Thordís, breaking the churning tension and desire between them that had been festering for the last few days. When they finally broke apart, they kept their foreheads pressed together, leaning into the other. Jane laughed, and so Thordís did as well. Maybe, Earth wouldn’t be so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who read!
> 
> I adore hearing from you, and every comment/kudos/bookmark/subscription is welcome and beloved!
> 
> Until the next chapter!  
> :)


	6. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again to everyone who's provided feedback and read this. I hope you've enjoyed, and I hope you will enjoy this final chapter: Loki's Epilogue. I couldn't explain all the changes to the plot without giving you all a look through Loki's eyes. Thank you all again so much for your support.

Loki’s world crumbled when Thordís left.

 

First, he found out the truth behind his parentage. The Jotun had not burned him in the battle; instead, when their ice touched his flesh, his flesh became theirs. To test this curse, he went to the casket. He splayed his fingers across it, and his skin became blue and ridged. Odin found him in the throne room, and he learned the truth. He was the bastard, runt son of Laufey. He was taken in by Odin because of pity and was little more than a pet. A stolen Jotun child, trained to be a warrior for Asgard. Odin had taken in him and used him, he had never loved him. Then, Odin, before he could explain this all to Loki before he could justify or assure Loki, he fell into the Odinsleep, exhausted from resisting it for too long. 

 

Perhaps some of this was Loki’s fault, he had brought the Frost Giants to Asgard in the first place, but only to ensure that Thordís would not be forced into a marriage she did not want. He couldn't bear to see his sister unhappy. He hoped she would prove herself as capable of protecting Asgard, that she could show their father her power in their excursion to Jotunheim, and she had done more than prove herself in Loki's eyes, but father did not agree. 

Once she was banished, Odin arranged a treaty with Laufey, that peace would be maintained so long as Thordís was exiled from Asgard. As King, Loki could not even safely bring Thordís home, as their father’s treaty with Laufey was dependent on her banishment. He hoped, when he went to Midgard through the passages between realms, that Thordís would beg and he could pretend to cave, and people would not see it as him disobeying Odin, but as the Princess returning home as he granted her mercy. Of his compassion and love for his sister outweighing any suspected fears of the Jotun. To prove that he was unafraid of war, ready to destroy the remaining Frost Giants, thus solidifying his loyalty to Asgard and not the home of his biological father. But Thordís did not beg to come back, she accepted her punishment and tearfully said farewell to him. Loki couldn’t bear that. 

 

It took little finesse to let Sif and the Warriors Three know of Thordís’ fate and banishment and to persuade them, and Heimdall to allow them, to try to bring Thordís home. Thordís was usually devoted to making her friends happy, and Loki was confident that sending them to Midgard would fix everything. They would beg her. They would seduce her with the thought of valor and war. Thordís would return, Jotunheim would go to war, Loki could destroy the father who abandoned him and would prove himself to the father who took him in. He would have his sister again, he would declare she was the rightful Queen - husband or naught, he would be beloved by Asgard, and it would all go quite well. 

But then, Sif and the Warriors Three returned empty-handed, saying that brave, honorable, loyal, good Thordís accepted her banishment to ensure peace between the realms. She was heralded as the savior of Asgard. No soul loved Asgard as much as the Princess. Nobody else would sacrifice everything for peace. Men threw themselves forward for the honor of death in combat, but none quietly accepted to wither and fade to time for the good of the realm. The Princess did, and therefore there was no greater soul on Asgard. Never had been. Never will be. Loki knew better of course. He was able to see Thordís on Midgard in a way only shared by Heimdall. And what he saw led him to the painful truth: Thordís had not abandoned Asgard for peace, but for love. She had fallen in love with a mortal woman, Jane Foster, and Loki finally understood. It was not that his sister loved Asgard more than she loved him, it was that she loved Jane more than she loved him. Ironically, the lendmen completely regressed, now grumbling that it was Loki on the throne and not Thordís, even if she was unmarried. Thordís was mourned as the Princess who loved Asgard above all else, and Loki was treated like the inferior option between them.

 

And then, Mother joyously announced that Odin’s strength was slowly returning, and he would awaken in a matter of days. Any respect Loki had was gone, he became a powerless king on a meaningless throne. Everyone preferred Thordís or Odin to him, and they didn’t realize or couldn’t comprehend the fact that the only reason people now accepted his sister was that of his actions. He had done the impossible, but now he would go back to being the begrudging attack dog to Odin. He would be without Thordís, his best friend and beloved sister. And if he did become King, if Odin pretended for the rest of their lives that Loki was his son and not his pet, people would always wish he was her.

 

Loki had to scheme, and he had to scheme quickly. If the Jotun suddenly went to war with Asgard, if they broke the treaty, then Asgard decimating the Frost Giants would be completely acceptable. Honorable, even. Using the fissures in the world he used to let the Frost Giants in on Thordís’ announcement day, he spoke to Laufey. He persuaded the King of Jotunheim, his true father, to attack and kill Odin and steal the Casket. Loki could have Asgard as his throne would no longer be threatened by Odin or Thordís, Laufey could have the other realms, and all would be well. Loki had no desire to actually take the throne from Odin or Thordís, but he wanted the respect again that would come from destroying Jotunheim once and for all. When Laufey and his men arrived, they were slaughtered by Loki and the Einherjar. Loki then used this as an excuse to unleash the full power of the Bifrost on Jotunheim. Heimdall resisted, but Loki dismissed, outwitted, and froze him. Unbeknownst to Loki, the Warriors Three and Sif discovered his plot, or at least, part of it. They found him trying to destroy Jotunheim. Claiming to act on the words of his sister who said peace was the most important, they fought him on the Bifrost.

 

Loki was the second-greatest warrior and greatest magic-user in Asgard. The fight took so long that Jotunheim was nearly destroyed when Heimdall was freed from the ice Loki had trapped him in to keep him at bay. He used the dark magic that let him wield the Bifrost to shatter it, meaning that Thordís could never return. Meaning that all of this had been for naught. Meaning that Loki had failed.

 

Odin had awoken when all of this occurred. He found Loki as a battered h eap on the Bifrost. Sif, The Warriors Three, and Heimdall stood behind their true King, Odin.

 

“I could have done it, Father!” Loki cried. “For Thordís! For you! For all of us.”

 

“No Loki,” Odin shook his head. 

The disappointment in his eyes was crippling. Loki, with his last strength, flung himself off the splintered Bifrost and into the abyss below. He wished he could die in the vacuum of space. He especially hoped that after he realized where he landed, and who was waiting for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone again.
> 
> Thordís will return! Because there are, canonically, two years between the end of Thordís and the beginning of the Avengers, I'm going to have a little collection of little moments spanning the timeline from the perspectives of multiple characters in this "Anything You Can Do" Series. If you have any suggestions for moments you'd want from Thordís or anyone in my series, please leave a comment below. 
> 
> And then, Thordís will most definitely return for the Avengers. So, if you want to stay updated on her character and this universe, I highly recommend you bookmark or subscribe to my series or my user. And, in the meantime, read through my series, please, if you haven't already! Or, find me on Tumblr: aycdicdbmcu.tumblr.com
> 
> Thank you all again so much for everything!


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